Family photoDouglas LaLima, who was killed in a freak accident Wednesday, is seen here with his wife, Vienna, and their four daughters: Victoria, 12; Olivia, 10; Sophia, 6, and Julia, 3.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Verizon employee from Tottenville killed in a freak electrical accident was a cheerful, hardworking father of four young girls, said family and co-workers, who will remember him for his infectious smile.

Douglas LaLima, 37, of Simon Court, was working on a utility pole from the bucket of a truck in Brooklyn’s Brownsville section when he was electrocuted Wednesday morning.

John Bonomo, a Verizon spokesman, said the accident was “highly unusual.”

“He somehow came into contact with power lines — but what exactly the circumstances were, that’s not something we’ve nailed down as of today,” he said.

The company will conduct a “thorough investigation,” he promised.

Gregory Alexander was working in a barbershop down the block when he heard “a cracking sound” and then screams, he told The Wall Street Journal. Rushing outside, he saw LaLima in trouble as onlookers yelled, “Take him down, take him down!”

William Velazquez, who owns a nearby tire shop and made a call to 911, said, “He was trying to run the cable. Somehow, he caught on the power cable.”

The Fire Department responded promptly, but LaLima had suffered severe burns and was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He was a very cheerful person, a charming personality,” said Rolando Scott, president of LaLima’s union, Communication Workers Local 1109. “He was always positive. He lit up a room.”

His sister-in-law, Maria Adinolfi, said he was devoted to his family and had friends galore.

“He always had a smile on his face,” she said. “Never a bad word for anybody.”

LaLima grew up in Brooklyn’s Marine Park and moved to Staten Island after his marriage to Vienna Adinolfi. They had four daughters in quick succession: Victoria, Olivia, Sophia and Julia.

“His daughters were his life. He loved to talk about his girls, and watching them at their cheerleading competitions,” according to a remembrance posted on the Local 1109 website. “Doug cherished every day with his family and couldn’t wait to get home to them. He always had a smile on his face when talking about them.”

Scott said LaLima’s union brothers and sisters were mourning. “It really struck a chord for me, when I heard the news,” Scott said.

Such accidents are very rare, he noted.

“We’ve had people that have died on the job of heart attacks and so forth,” he said. “But never in this fashion.”

He said the local was planning a way for folks to donate or otherwise help the LaLima family.

“Our concern is to give the protections to his family, and his four young daughters,” Scott said.

Verizon officials notified the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the accident, as required by law, Bonomo said, and investigators are already at work.

“We had an employee assistance program in place both yesterday and today, to help them through if they had any questions or feelings or things of that sort,” Bonomo said.

A Tottenville neighbor, Andrew Halpert, said LaLima was “really a great guy.”

“We would stop and talk in front of the house. He was always quick with a smile, always seemed happy,” Halpert said.

He said LaLima kept himself in good shape, and like most people in the neighborhood, was busy with his family and his work.